No promises over death penalty: MOFA

EMPTY PROMISE?Following a global outcry over Friday’s executions, David Lin said abolition was only a direction, while the Control Yuan head praised executions

By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter

“There are still quite a few countries that retain capital punishment, for example, the US, the world’s largest national economy. Differences in social background and cultural values in each country should be factored into policy on the death penalty,” Chen said.

Chen said the government would take the issue of abolition of the death penalty seriously since Taiwan has made the two UN covenants legally binding.

Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien, meanwhile, praised the government for carrying out the executions in defiance of international pressure.

“I disagreed with arguments proposed by anti-death penalty activists. The executions reflect justice. Taiwan is a sovereign independent nation and has its own standards of human rights. There is no need for us to blindly force ourselves to follow global trends,” Wang said.